My friends,
Women and their families are suffering right now across Kansas. The saddest part of their agony is that it is entirely unnecessary and avoidable.
They’re suffering because they don’t have access to affordable health care that they need for themselves and their families to survive and thrive. Without this health care help, families aren’t able to afford the preventive testing needed to stay on top of medical conditions, pay for expensive medications, get care for mental health issues, and other life-saving care. People are dying because this issue is not being addressed.
The problem is a massive gap between the income eligibility to receive KanCare, the Kansas state-run version of Medicaid health care services, and the ability to receive a subsidy through the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
To qualify for KanCare, a family of four can earn no more than $11,400 annually. To be eligible for ACA health insurance subsidies, a family of four must have a household income between $30,000 and $120,000. That’s a lot of households falling into the gap between $11,400 and $30,000 in annual income.
Forty states and Washington DC have signed up for Medicaid Expansion, which closes the gap by providing funding to make it affordable for states to expand coverage. The federal government covers 90% of additional costs, and states pay the other 10%. Earlier this year, Governor Kelly released a plan that shows how Kansas can expand Medicaid at no cost to the state.
Expanding Medicaid goes beyond helping people caught in the gap. According to the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, this expansion would benefit Kansas by:
Reducing health care costs for everyone and protecting Kansans from medical debt;
Supporting a healthier workforce and keeping Kansas economically competitive;
Preserving and strengthening rural health care systems and the communities they serve; and
Ensuring uniform access to affordable health care for all Kansans, regardless of their race, how much money they make, or their ZIP code.
Women for Kansas State Executive Committee member Susan Osborne said it has been studying expansion throughout the United States since 2016. Its findings show:
70-80% of Kansans support Medicaid Expansion.
Forty states have expanded Medicaid, including all our neighboring states. Three additional Republican-led southern states (Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia) have signaled that they are ready to fund expansion in their states fully.
Kansas is second to Texas in the number of hospitals at risk of closure with 38.
Kansas has turned away nearly $7 billion in federal healthcare funding while contributing to healthcare spending in our neighboring states and the other 40 states that have already expanded their Medicaid programs.
In a 2020 statement, the League of Women Voters Kansas stated, "Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act provides an important step to address gaps in coverage for the medically indigent—people who lack resources to pay for medically necessary health care. LWVK supports Medicaid Expansion in Kansas to cover individuals up to 138% of the Federal Poverty Level. “
However, Senate President Ty Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins oppose Medicaid expansion and have blocked hearings and votes for over four years. They have repeatedly made inaccurate claims about the cost of Medicaid expansion and who would have access to medical care. Hawkins even went too far as to say Medicaid expansion would do nothing more than “increase welfare for able-bodied, working-age people.”
I think of the Badass Women of Wichita Alliance is a social club with a purpose: to support women and their families. When cruel injustice and actions hurt those we support, it is up to us to take action, large and small.
When we come together, we are powerful! So, we are working with the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, the League of Women Voters of Wichita Metro, and Women for Kansas to stir up a little good trouble.
I hope you will join me at our Medicaid Expansion Postcard Campaign on March 12, from 6 until 8 PM, at the Wichita Advanced Learning Library, 711 W. 2nd Street. We’ll hear about this vital issue and write to legislators and state leaders to let them know how significant Medicaid expansion is to women and their families.
There is not cost to join us, but please register so we have enough materials for everyone.
We must make our voices heard!
We can make a difference to 152,000 Kansans who cannot access healthcare without this expansion.
Register now!
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